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Woj On Durant, Schedule, NBA Finances, More

May 11th, 2020 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Nets general manager Sean Marks isn’t willing to close the door on the possibility of Kevin Durant returning to the court if the 2019/20 season resumes this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski sounds prepared to slam that door shut.

In the latest episode of his Woj Pod, speaking to guests Rachel Nichols and Bobby Marks, Wojnarowski suggested that we still shouldn’t expect to see Durant make his comeback until the 2020/21 season gets underway.

“Kevin Durant’s not coming back to the Nets this year,” Woj said. “That’s not happening… They’re not playing him.”

While Wojnarowski didn’t go into detail on the Durant situation, his comment came during a discussion about teams being wary of rushing players back this summer, following a brief ramp-up period. The implication in Durant’s case is that the potential reward for the seventh-seeded Nets wouldn’t be worth the risk of possibly compromising the star forward’s health for next season.

Here are a few more takeaways from the latest Woj Pod episode:

Asked by Nichols if the NBA might play a shortened season in 2020/21 – particularly if it starts around Christmas – Wojnarowski stressed that’s very unlikely. As he explains, the league will be doing all it can to recoup lost revenue next season, which will mean playing as many games as possible (ideally 82) in ’20/21. In other words, if the regular season starts in December, it will likely run into June, with the Finals potentially ending next August.
During the podcast – and in a subsequent article for ESPN.com – Wojnarowski observed that the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to create major imbalances throughout the league. For instance, if certain states permit fans in arenas at the start of next season and others don’t, that could create a major earnings disparity between many of the league’s franchises, which could lead to competitive imbalance.
Additionally, as Woj details, a number of smaller-market teams rely on the NBA’s revenue-sharing model and benefit from huge gate receipts from markets like Los Angeles, New York, and Golden State. If franchises in those big markets still can’t allow fans in arenas when the 2020/21 season begins – or have to do so on a limited basis – it would have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the league.
Discussing the potential resumption of the 2019/20 season, Wojnarowski noted that the NBA will have to sell many of its lottery teams on prioritizing the “greater good” of the league — even if some of those teams would benefit (financially and otherwise) from simply canceling this season and focusing on 2020/21. Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers addressed this subject last week, vowing that his team would be “good partners” if and when the season resumes.

More Details On David Levy's Brief Stint With Nets

May 7th, 2020 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets parted ways with former CEO David Levy back in November, just two months after hiring him. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reports, Levy’s stint with the franchise was short-lived because his contract stated he’d have some influence in the basketball operations department and that didn’t sit well with members of the team’s front office. According to Bondy, the “pushback” Levy received led to the Nets essentially buying him out.
Neither the Knicks nor Nets will open their practice facilities on Friday, and neither team has specified a target date for when that may happen, per Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today.

Draft Notes: McClung, Henry, Big Boards

May 6th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite a claim from Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing that he’ll be back with the program this season, Mac McClung continues to test the draft waters and hasn’t informed the school of any official decision yet, agent Daniel Hazan tells Ben Standig of The Athletic.

As Standig details, McClung’s energy and athleticism make him an intriguing prospect worth monitoring, but he’s not considered likely to be drafted if he goes pro this year. One general manager said he’s still not clear on what position or role McClung would play at the NBA level.

Still, NBA teams are doing their homework on the sophomore guard. Hazan said on Tuesday that McClung has had virtual meetings with 11 teams, with more to come — a source informs Standig that the Rockets, Bulls, and Nets are among those 11 clubs.

Here are a few more draft-related items:

Michigan State forward Aaron Henry has signed with agent Aaron Reilly of AMR, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Because Reilly is NCAA-certified, Henry can continue to test the draft waters without forfeiting his remaining two years of college eligibility.
Goodman has published the second version of his 2020 mock draft at WatchStadium.com, forecasting a top five of James Wiseman (Warriors), Anthony Edwards (Cavaliers), LaMelo Ball (Timberwolves), Obi Toppin (Hawks), and Deni Avdija (Pistons).
With last week’s early entrant deadline behind us, Jeremy Woo of SI.com and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have each updated their respective big boards for the 2020 draft. Both draft experts have Ball, Edwards, and Wiseman ranked as their top three prospects, but disagree on some other lottery prospects. Vecenie has Toppin (No. 4) and Cole Anthony (No. 8) several spots higher than Woo does, but is less bullish on Isaac Okoro (No. 11), who is sixth on Woo’s board.

Jeff Van Gundy A Potential Coaching Candidate For Rockets

May 6th, 2020 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Unlike the Nets and Knicks, who have interim head coaches in place, the Rockets aren’t necessarily a lock to conduct a coaching search of their own later this year. However, with Mike D’Antoni in a contract year, there has been plenty of speculation that Houston will go in another direction.

With that in mind, and in the wake of a recent report linking Tom Thibodeau to the Rockets, Kelly Iko, Mo Dakhil, and Sam Amick of The Athletic discussed the situation on Tuesday’s edition of the ‘Brodie and the Beard’ podcast, with Amick suggesting that another former NBA coach – Jeff Van Gundy – has been frequently connected to the Houston job.

“Jeff Van Gundy’s name is the one that I have heard consistently as a very possible replacement for Mike,” Amick said (hat tip to RealGM). “It’s interesting to see Thibs’ name in there now because you’ve got a guy who was Jeff’s top assistant when Jeff was the Rockets’ coach. … Van Gundy and Thibs being from the same tree, whatever happens next, I think you’re starting to get a sense of what might be prioritized. Obviously defense first. Discipline.”

Amick cautioned that there’s no guarantee the Rockets will move on from D’Antoni after the 2019/20 season, especially if the team makes a deep playoff run. However, he does still think this will probably be D’Antoni’s last year in Houston.

“Barring a championship if they do save the season, I do not get the sense that Mike D’Antoni is going to be back,” Amick said. “They’ve had a major divide in the contract negotiations.”

As Amick explains, the decisions to part with Van Gundy in 2007 and to hire D’Antoni in 2016 were largely driven by former Rockets owner Leslie Alexander. With the franchise under new ownership and GM Daryl Morey believed to be a fan of Van Gundy – who reportedly received strong consideration from Houston in ’16 before the hiring of D’Antoni – it’s possible a reunion could be in the cards. Van Gundy had a 182-146 (.555) record as coach of the Rockets from 2003-07.

Of course, for that reunion to come to fruition, Van Gundy would have to decide he wants to leave a comfortable broadcasting job with ESPN and ABC to return to coaching. And even then, he’d likely draw interest from other teams — the Knicks and Nets are each believed to have JVG on their list of potential candidates.

Atlantic Notes: Durant, Raptors, Knicks, Celtics

May 6th, 2020 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN analyst Jay Williams doesn’t profess to have any inside info on whether his friend Kevin Durant will aim to return this summer from an Achilles tear, but suggested to Marc Berman of The New York Post that the condensed nature of a resumed 2019/20 schedule may be a deterrent for the injured Nets star.

“It’s one thing to come back and start the beginning of next season where there’s time and space between games and (you can) keep your body ramped up the right way,” Williams said. “But someone coming back off an injury and (going) right into a playoff scenario, I don’t think it’s feasible or fair on Kevin himself. But Kevin is his own man. He’ll do what he wants to do.”

Durant’s return from last year’s Achilles injury had initially been expected to happen at the start of the 2020/21 season, but there has been speculation during the hiatus about the possibility of him making it back this summer. KD’s manager Rich Kleiman has repeatedly stated it’s not realistic to expect the star forward to return before next season, though neither he nor GM Sean Marks has entirely ruled out the possibility.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Raptors are in touch with officials at the city and provincial level in the hopes of being able to reopen their practice facility for individual workouts, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. As Smith notes, Toronto Mayor John Tory hopes to have an answer for the team by the end of the week. “A couple of athletes and a couple of trainers, quite literally, so you’d have a very small group of people in there,” Tory said. “That proposal, that we worked on back and forth with the Raptors, is under very active consideration. I think the discussions have been going well.”
In his latest mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv answers questions on Leon Rose‘s roster-building philosophy, the Knicks‘ decision to retain GM Scott Perry, and where the team stands on Frank Ntilikina, among other topics.
In a pair of articles for The Athletic, Jay King and John Hollinger examine Gordon Hayward‘s contract situation and a potential max extension for Jayson Tatum, and Hollinger explains why he’s not particularly bullish on the Celtics‘ group of rookies.

Mark Jackson Says He Wants To Coach Again

May 5th, 2020 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

It has now been six full years since Mark Jackson last coached an NBA game, but the former Warriors head coach confirmed during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN’s First Take that he still has interest in returning to the NBA sidelines.

Asked by hosts Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman about the Knicks‘ head coaching job and the rumors linking him to the position, Jackson didn’t specifically address the possibility of replacing Mike Miller in New York. However, he joked that he appreciates “the chatter” and confirmed he’d welcome the opportunity to coach an NBA team again, whether or not that team is the Knicks.

“There are 30 NBA jobs. I don’t minimize myself to one,” Jackson said (video link). “I look forward to one day coaching again, it’s a dream of mine. … I had an incredible time in Golden State coaching for three years, developing incredible relationships, and having some success. And I look forward to the challenge of doing it once again somewhere.”

Jackson was hired by the Warriors in 2011, and after winning just 23 games in the strike-shortened 2011/12 campaign, he guided the team to 47- and 51-win seasons in the next two years, winning a playoff series in 2013. Golden State ultimately didn’t get over the hump until the following season, when Steve Kerr took over and led the team to the first of three titles in a four-year stretch.

Over the last several years, Jackson has been an analyst for ABC and ESPN. However, his name continues to pop up for certain high-profile coaching jobs. Besides being identified as a possible option for the Knicks, Jackson is also rumored to be on the Nets‘ preliminary list of potential candidates.

Knicks, Rockets, Nets Interested In Thibodeau?

May 4th, 2020 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks would get first crack at Tom Thibodeau for their head coaching job if new president Leon Rose decides to replace Mike Miller, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

The Rockets and Nets are also expected to pursue Thibodeau but the Knicks could get the jump on those franchises because they won’t make the playoffs, Berman continues.

Thibodeau would have an apparent interest in all three jobs, Berman continues, but there’s a connection between him and Rose. As a Creative Artists Agency client, Thibodeau has worked with the former agent.

There has been widespread speculation about potential coaching candidates for the Knicks, and a report surfaced last week that Thibodeau would be Rose’s top choice if a change is made. That report also stated Spurs assistant Becky Hammon and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy would get consideration.

The Rockets and Nets have been previously noted as other possible destinations for the former Bulls and Timberwolves coach. Nets superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving like and respect Thibodeau, who coached them as a Team USA assistant, Berman adds. Still, it’s worth noting that one April report suggested that Thibodeau was thought to be “solely a Knicks candidate.”

Joe Harris Reveals Injury Suffered Before Start Of Hiatus

May 3rd, 2020 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nets swingman Joe Harris estimates he would have been sidelined for about a month if the NBA hadn’t gone on hiatus in March, according to a NetsDaily story. In an interview with UVA Today, a publication by the University of Virginia, Harris said he suffered a severe ankle sprain in Brooklyn’s final game before the shutdown.

“So I was going to be out a month, no matter what, and then (the hiatus) went down literally the next day,” Harris said. “I wasn’t even with the team. I flew back to New York with one of our trainers, and we were supposed to play at Golden State (on March 12). The rest of the team was in San Francisco, and they just had to pack up their stuff and leave from there.”

Harris confirmed that he has fully healed and will be ready to play whenever the NBA season resumes. He said the injury gave him an opportunity to work with team trainers, which only players who are doing rehab work are permitted to do under lockdown regulations. However, Harris wasn’t able to use the practice court or any basketballs in his workouts.

“The only loophole that I have right now is that the NBA allowed guys that were in the midst of rehab go into the facility and work with the trainer, so I’ve been able to do that for the last few weeks,” Harris said. “But when I go in, I have to wear a mask and gloves the entire time, and only you and the trainer are allowed in there.

“… Everything’s shut down. I just do rehab, and I do it with one trainer, and it’s just the two of us in the entire facility, so it’s a little strange, because when you go in there, it’s usually hustling and bustling, with a lot going on and good energy, and now there’s just two of you in there.”

Harris also spoke briefly about free agency, saying he hasn’t “really thought about it a ton.” After four productive years in Brooklyn, Harris is in position for a sizable raise from the $7.7MM he’s making this season. The Nets will have to decide if he is worth the investment after spending heavily to add Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan last summer.

“It’s one of those things where I’ll just sort of cross that bridge when I get to it,” Harris said. “Right now all the focus is on prioritizing your health and well-being. I’m really more worried about that versus anything basketball-related, to be honest.”

Sean Marks Doesn’t Rule Out A Return By Kevin Durant

May 3rd, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s manager and business partner Rich Kleiman has suggested Durant won’t try to return if the season resumes, but Nets general manager Sean Marks wasn’t as definite when asked about the possibility by Grant Chapman of Newshub in New Zealand.

“That’s a $110MM question,” Marks responded. “In all seriousness, we’ve tried not to talk about his timeline a lot. He knows his body better than anybody. Our performance team and training staff have done a tremendous job getting him to this point, but I just don’t know how coming out of this pandemic will affect anybody, let alone Kevin.

“When you’ve got enough invested in a player like Kevin, we’re never going to push him to come back. When the timing is right, he’ll be 100 percent when he gets on the court. I can tell you this though — before the pandemic, he looked like Kevin Durant and that’s a good thing.”

When Durant signed with the Nets last summer, it was generally accepted that he would sit out the entire season while recovering from Achilles surgery. However, the NBA’s hiatus may present an unexpected opportunity. Durant was participating in three-on-three scrimmages before the league was locked down and was impressing teammates with his play.

Durant is approaching the 11-month mark since suffering the injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and could provide a much-needed playoff boost to Brooklyn, which currently occupies the seventh seed in the East.

Also in the interview, Marks, a native New Zealander, said he remains optimistic that the league can finish its season, adding that the Nets’ staff is preparing for multiple scenarios.

“It’s not like we’re not throwing stuff on the wall, because we are,” he said. “We’re throwing stuff up there like, ‘what if this happens, what if that happens… what are the circumstances we would need to return’. Nobody quite knows what the new normal will be. The new normal we were predicting a week ago is vastly different to the one we’re predicting right now … things are changing so quickly.”

New York Notes: Lin, Knicks, CP3, Nets

April 30th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Although “Linsanity” represented one of the most memorable runs in recent Knicks history, Jeremy Lin‘s time in New York was ultimately short-lived. The point guard only appeared in 35 games for the franchise, departing in restricted free agency following his breakout 2011/12 season.

Revisiting his departure in a conversation this week with MSG Network broadcaster Mike Breen, Lin said he wanted to remain with the Knicks in 2012. New York encouraged him to find an offer sheet in restricted free agency, and he hoped the team would match it, as Marc Berman of The New York Post details.

“I was only offered one contract,” Lin told Breen. “We couldn’t get anything from any other team. And so, I had to go find a contract from somebody. And I remember when Houston gave the offer, I said to (my agent), ‘Can you tell Houston to lower the offer? This is too much. Can you tell someone to lower the offer?’ Because I wanted to go back to New York and I wanted New York to match.

“The time there, with the fans, everything. It was so special. I was like, ‘I need to go back to New York,'” Lin continued. “That’s where my heart is. So, I call my agent and said, ‘Hey, find a way to get out of Houston. Give me a less good contract so that New York will match it,’ and he said, ‘We can’t, this is Houston’s final offer and we’ve been talking to them for a week, two weeks, three weeks, this is it.'”

As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), reporting at the time suggested that Lin was initially planning to sign a four-year, $28MM offer sheet from Houston, which the Knicks were expected to match. The Rockets adjusted it to make it a three-year, $25MM deal with a $15MM “poison pill” salary in year three. According to Berman, Knicks owner James Dolan was “bitter” about the reworked offer, believing it was Lin’s idea.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Following up on a series of March reports which suggested the Knicks may have interest in trading for Chris Paul during the offseason, Ian Begley of SNY.tv proposes a pair of hypothetical trade scenarios and explores how they would impact the club’s cap going forward.
According to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, there are some people within the Nets‘ organization rooting for interim head coach Jacque Vaughn to get the full-time job, though that may be a long shot given the names that have already surfaced as potential options. Michael Lee, Joe Vardon, and Sam Amick join Schiffer to debate the pros and cons of the Nets’ rumored coaching candidates and to suggest other targets for the club to consider.
Our latest roundup of Knicks notes was published on Wednesday night, with our most recent collection of Notes notes posted on Sunday. Be sure to visit the New York and Brooklyn team pages for all the latest updates on the two clubs.